Someday, Somewhere
by AshleyNicole86
Summary: Stephanie's life is shattered when tragedy strikes, who will she turn to for the support she needs? Angsty but eventually more along the lines of the happy Plum world we know. Babe Fic. Not for the Cupcake fans out there, sorry.
1. Chapter 1

**New Story. First Chapter is sad, but It'll get better! :) Hope you enjoy it.

* * *

**

Today was one of those rare days when everything was actually going good. I'd nabbed two skips without rolling around in garbage or getting shot at, I'd had an incredibly good Morelli induced orgasm, and we'd just eaten a large Pino's pie. Now we we're heading back home.

"Cupcake, you want to come back down to earth?" Joe slung his arm around my shoulder and grinned. Life didn't get a whole lot better than this.

We were half way across the parking lot when the shots rang out. I felt Joe's body jerk as he threw himself on top of me and to the ground. For a second all I could think was how much my side hurt. And then it dawned on me, we'd been shot at.

"Joe? Joe?" He moaned but didn't answer. Other people were here now and they were rolling Joe off of me. I got to my knees, ignoring the pain in my side and looked down at Joe. My hand found his and I squeezed it. "Hey Joe. You're going to be okay, can you hear the ambulances? I can, they'll be here in a minute." I was pressing my jacket against the wounds on his abdomen and chest.

"I love you Steph." Joe's voice scared me. There was blood pooling underneath him.

"I love you too Joe." I was starting to feel feint. Joe closed his eyes. That was bad, he needed to keep his eyes open. "Joe, baby, open your eyes. Joe!" The panic set it, Joe wasn't opening his eyes. My heart was beating incredibly hard; blackness was creeping inward from the edges of my field of vision. I felt my body crumpling beside him and my voice barely croaked out, "Joe? Please answer me?" I hit ground and saw a red splash right before my vision went black.

I woke up and groaned. My room smelled funny. It was a Friday, Joe was probably already up but I didn't smell any coffee. I opened my eyes and my world came crashing down. Getting shot. Joe. Oh god, where was Joe? I looked around frantically. I could hear my heart monitor beeping wildly. I needed to find Joe. I tried to get up but something tore at my side and I stopped. A nurse came in then and frowned at me.

"Now now Mrs. Morelli please settle down. You'll tear out your stitches."

My eyes were wild, "Where's Joe?" I asked her frantically. "Please? Where's my husband?"

"I'm going to go get the doctor." I knew right when she said that. If he'd been okay she would have said so. If he'd been alive she would have said something. But she offered me no hope and so I knew.

I felt like I was being crushed. I couldn't breathe, I wasn't sure I wanted to breathe.

"Stephanie, its okay, just breathe through it. It's just a panic attack. Breathe for me." I tried to breathe but it wasn't working. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't deal with this. The blackness started to descend and I let it take me.

I floated back to consciousness slowly. I'd been heavily sedated. This time when I opened my eyes my mom and Tank were in the room.

"Hi sweetie, how are you feeling?"

"Joes dead?" I asked it as if it was a question, but I knew the answer. My mom nodded and grabbed my hand. I looked to Tank blankly. "Where's Ranger?"

"He's offline Bombshell. We've left him messages but he'd deep in." Tank said.

"Okay."

"Stephanie you got shot, twice. Once in the upper chest and once in your side." My mom told me this like I should care. I didn't care. I was obviously okay. "Both of the shots were superficial. You get to go home today."

"Who…?"

Tank spoke up, "We don't know Stephanie. We're working on it."

I felt numb as the nurse came in and did one last vitals check. Someone helped me get dressed, I wasn't sure who. Tank wheeled me out into the hall and I looked at the faces of half of the Trenton PD. The numbness wore off. Tears started streaming down my face. One by one they gave me their condolences; I was getting the widow treatment. Eddie and Carl gave me hugs. I nodded but I couldn't talk. Tank wheeled me outside and settled down on a knee to look at me.

"Steph where do you want to go?"

"Home, I need to take care of Bob and Rex." Tank nodded and helped me into the SUV. He told my mom he'd take care of me. I stopped listening, I just didn't care what they were saying.

"I'm sorry Steph." I looked up to see Hal. I nodded and looked out the window. Tank drove me to the house. There were cars parked along the drive way. No doubt Morelli's mom had taken over. Christ. The burg is like a town full of vultures, just waiting to descend.

I walked in and looking for Bob but I couldn't find him. The room went silent. Joe's sister came to me and tried to hug me, I just stood there. I didn't know what to do.

"Where Bob?"

"Oh Stephanie we had to chain him up out back, he was eating everything and.."

"Tank please go get Bob." I walked into the kitchen and got Rex's cage. Tank came back in with Bob. "I want everyone out of my house. Just go." I walked out and climbed back into the SUV. Tank loaded Bob and we sat for a minute. "Can I stay at RangeMan?"

"You know you can."

"I didn't know if…after…Ranger hasn't been talking to me much…"

"Ranger is trying to be gentlemanly and not poach. Even a drunken Vegas marriage deserves some respect." Tank said quietly. I nodded. One week ago I'd been a newlywed. Today I was a widow.

I let myself and Rex into Ranger's apartment. Tank was taking Bob back to his place, where he'd be more comfortable. I put Rex's cage down on the table in the foyer. I made it to the living room before I collapsed, onto the floor in the dark.

And now the light flipping on wakes me up. "Christ, Babe? Are you okay? What the hell are you doing down there?" I look up at Ranger and he kneels down next to me.

"Babe? You need to tell me what's going on. I'm not online yet. What's going on? Stephanie? Come on talk to me!"

I know I should answer him but I can't form any words. Someone knocks and Ranger makes an irritated sound and spins around to answer it. It's Tank.

"Hey boss, we saw you get in…uh…has Stephanie told you…?"

Ranger's sigh is loud, "Stephanie hasn't said a damn word, what's wrong with her?"

"Someone killed Morelli." Ranger's head snaps around and he's with me on the floor in a second.

His arms wrap around me but I'm back to feeling numb. "Oh babe I'm so sorry." He starts whispering in Spanish and the numbness started to wear off again. I can't stop the sobs from coming and they overwhelm me. My whole body is shaking and soon my throat hurts. Ranger picks me up and carries me to his bed. He climbs in with me and I fall asleep still sobbing.

* * *

**And? Should I keep going?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the nice reviews!!! I'm glad you guys are liking the story. This chapter is mostly sad but has a funny moment or two. I'm going to be filling in back story as I go. Happy Reading!!!

* * *

**

Today I woke up and, for a second, it was like any other day. And then my memory kicked in and the world crashed down again. I'm glad that I'm more lucid but I can feel the pain coming and it makes me psychically hurt. But today there's more. There's regret and sorrow and guilt. Most of all there is anger. I am so angry.

I look to my right and see Ranger asleep in the corner chair. The guilt washes over me and I get up to leave quietly. Ranger shifts and I watch as his eyes pop open.

"Babe. I'm sorry."

Anger wells up inside me, "Why? You didn't kill my husband." I gave him a sharp glance, "Did you?" And then Ranger is on his feet, walking over to me with his blank face in place.

"I know you're hurt right now and I know you're angry. So I'm going to forget that you just said that." Ranger walks out of the room and I jump as the door slams behind him.

I get up and shove my feet back in my shoes. I make my way downstairs and actually get out of the building before one of the Merry Men catches up to me.

"Where are you going bombshell?

"I need to…god I just need to be alone." I start walking again and Lester follows me. I turn on him, "Don't you understand? I need to be alone. Why can't you just leave me alone?" Tears are streaming out of my eyes now.

"Because someone murdered your husband and tried to kill you. So you don't _get_ to be alone. You don't even _get_ to be outside." He grabs my arm and tries to drag me back inside the building. I punch him in the eye and he swears. "Jesus Steph!"

"Why does it matter huh? Maybe I don't care if someone out here wants to shoot me! Maybe I deserve it!" The guilt is welling up again, threatening to explode out of me at any moment.

"You don't care? Okay fine, but you know how you're feeling right now? You know how it feels like your heart is being ripped out of your chest? Well there is a man in that building who would feel the same way if you died. So get your ass back inside."

And then it happens. The guilt erupts out of me. "That's why it's so bad. I don't feel like my heart got ripped out. It was fractured and now that part is gone. But rest of it…it's okay with this. The rest of me wanted to run to Ranger first thing. Who does that? What kind of woman sees her husband die and runs to another man?" I punch the window I'm standing next to and flinch as the glass breaks and cuts me.

I watch as understanding dawns on Lester's face. "Bomber…you can't feel bad about who you love. You loved Joe, we could all see that, he knew that. You gotta remember, Joe knew you loved Ranger too. He'd want you to be happy, because more than anything else, Joe loved you."

I could feel Ranger behind me so I turned around and stalked back to the garage, pushing past him. He caught me in the elevator. I noticed Lester waited for the next one.

"You love me?" He would ask that now. Now when I couldn't answer it without feeling like I was cheating on Joe. Like I was horrible person. I stared at Ranger, not giving him an answer. My side hurt and could feel blood seeping out from the torn stitches. "You're bleeding."

"It's okay."

"It's not okay Stephanie. None of this is okay. You getting married to Morelli after I tell you I love you? That's not okay. Morelli getting killed? Not okay. You almost getting killed? Not okay. None of this is okay Stephanie."

"You wake me up in the middle of the night and tell me you love me and then you leave on some freaking suicide mission and I don't hear from you for over three months. And none of the men would tell me a damn thing. _That's_ not okay. So don't get pissy because I got drunk over missing _you_ and married the guy who stuck around."

The elevator opened and I let myself into Ranger's apartment and grab Rex's cage, I can't go to Morelli's, I'll have to stay at my parent's house. Ranger's standing against the door and I know he's not going to make this easy for me.

"You're not going anywhere Stephanie. There is someone after you."

"You don't know that. Maybe they were just after Morelli."

"Stephanie. Put down Rex, come talk to me. Please?" The please stops me. Ranger never says please. He never even asks. He just orders people around and expects them to follow those orders.

I set Rex down and go sit on the couch. If he wants to talk I'll listen. Ranger walks to the bathroom and comes back with a first aid kit.

"Shirt off Stephanie. I need to look at the stitches." I pull the shirt over my head and grit my teeth as the stitches pull more. Ranger shakes his head when he sees the angry red marks on my chest and side. "You're arm is worse. You need some stitches, it's a nasty gash. You want to go to the hospital? I only have a topical numbing agent. It's going to hurt if I do it."

"I don't want to go to the hospital again. Just do it."

Ranger nods and started setting up some stuff. I look away. I don't want to know what he's doing. And then he starts talking, probably to distract me. I still jerk when he rubs something that stings over the gash.

"It's my job. To go away and do dangerous suicidal stuff. It's my job, and I won't always be able to call or check in or even say goodbye. I hate that, I hate worrying you. But it's the way it is."

Now I'm confused. I don't understand why he's telling me this now. I don't even understand what he's telling me at all. The suture needle slides into my arm and let out a small groan. It hurts.

"Stephanie I know this isn't the right time. But I want you to know I'll be here, in whatever capacity you need me to be. I called my superiors this morning. I've got a month long leave."

"You took time off…for me?" He's still stitching and it's hard for me to get the words out.

"I didn't want to have to leave right now, right in the middle of this. Asking for a leave was the only way to make sure I could be here. Vinnie's going to need someone to cover your skips anyway."

"I'll get my own skips." I couldn't sit around right now.

"Stephanie…" Ranger stops, like he doesn't know what he should say.

"If there's another…attack…we'll reevaluate, but right now, I need to be doing something."

"Alright. Will you train with the guys? It would make me feel better to know you're not rusty."

"No. I'll train with you though. The guys go too easy on me." I told him.

Ranger eyed me, "Stephanie I'm stitching you up right now. You're going to have to take it easy for a while."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" I finally ask. It's driving me crazy.

"Calling you what?" Ranger looks perplexed but I know he knows what I'm talking about.

"Stephanie?"

"It's your name." Ranger's voice is sarcastic.

"Ranger."

"Babe."

"Better." I don't need to be reminded that anything is different. Ranger finishes up the stitches. He swabs a thick amber colored solution of them and then wraps a bandage around my forearm. He swabs down the smaller cuts on my hand and then bandages the bad ones. My arm stings but my side hurts worse and Ranger grimaces when he looks at it.

"I'm just going to clean this up a little and put some dermabond on it."

"What's that?" It sounded scary.

"Superglue for skin." It was such a Ranger thing.

"Huh. Okay."

He finished and took out two pills and hands them to me, "Take one now and one later." I get up and walk silently to the freezer. I grab the vodka that's hidden in the back and pour a shot. I swallow both pills and then down the shot right as Ranger comes in. "Or take them both and then drink a bunch of alcohol. That will end well."

"Don't be an ass Ranger." I wish I was wearing my shirt. At least I'd have something to fiddle with. "Do you know…uh…when the funeral is…?"

Ranger's gives me a barely perceptible nod, "His mom didn't think you could…that you were up to handle it. It's Saturday." I nodded. Two days.

"I need a dress." I said, more to myself than to Ranger.

"Ella is taking care of it. She'll be up with breakfast soon." Ranger had been moving closer to me and now he is inches away and I'm pressed up against the counter. He looked like he was going to say something but he didn't. He backed off and walked to his room. The bathroom door closed quietly. I heard the shower turn on. I paced outside the door.

Ranger was acting strange. When I couldn't stand waiting anymore I walked into the bathroom. Ranger looked up, confused. "Steph? You okay?" I hopped up onto the vanity and sat for a minute.

"Keep showering Ranger." I tried to gather my thoughts and figure out what I wanted to say. "You can't just show up and tell me you love me and then pretend it didn't happen. And you can't pretend to be upset about Joe being dead, because I know you're not. And you really don't have to treat me all carefully and not hit on me. It's just not you."

Ranger had paused half way through my tirade and started looking at me. After I finished he stopped rinsed off and stepped out, grabbing a towel as he came out. He wrapped it around his waist and leaned against the wall across from me, arms folded.

"Stephanie. I am not pretending it didn't happen. I'm giving you some space. You did get married and…well it didn't seem prudent for me to bring it up right now. I am upset about Morelli being dead. Mostly because it upsets you, but also because Morelli was a damn good cop and a good man. And I'm pretty much not hitting on you in respect to him. Think carefully before you give me permission." He walked out of the bathroom, "And babe? I hate to believe that you think so little of me. I'm hoping it's just because you're upset." I sat for a minute on the vanity while Ranger got ready in the other room. I heard the apartment door shut and I came out of hiding.

Maybe Ranger was right; maybe I was taking my pain out on him. But I was right too. You can't just tell someone you love them and then ignore it. Even if that someone did marry someone else.

I needed something to do. Something to take my mind off of Joe. I put on a new shirt and went down to the 5th floor. I got condolences from all the men. I didn't want them. I didn't want condolences. I hadn't lost a bag. I'd lost my husband. Sorry just didn't quite cut it.

I went to my cubical and paused.

"Who are you?" The guy in my cubicle was wearing a black sweater vest and had glasses on. He wasn't normal RangeMan material. All the Merry Men tended to be well muscled and hot. This guy was pasty and…not…

"I'm Joshua ma'am."

"You're in my cubicle." He didn't say anything so I gave him a look that should have screamed "WHY?!"

"Uh…yes ma'am. I was put here. By Mr. Ranger." I blinked and turned around. I walked to Ranger's office. His door was open but he was on the phone. He didn't look up from his papers, but he motioned for me to come in and sit down. I'd never be able to hide and surprise Ranger. That was disappointing. The thought was so normal that it actually startled me a little. Ranger glanced up with me and I could see the sparkle of laughter in his eyes.

He finished up his phone call and hung up. "Babe."

"There is a nerdy little man in my cubicle." Ranger pinched the bridge of his nose and I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

"Not your cubicle anymore Babe. It's Joshua's cubicle now. Joshua calls me Mr. Ranger and looks like he's going to wet himself every time I come near him."

"I wouldn't be too proud of yourself. He looked like he was going to wet himself when I went near him. Where am I supposed to work if my cubicle is gone?"

"I wasn't under the impression you were working for me." Ranger was leaning back in his chair now.

This was true. Ranger hadn't asked me to work for him, "Oh well…I just need something to do, you don't have to pay me." I blinked a few times, my eyes were heavy.

Ranger stood up, "Come on, let's go."

"Go where?"

"Get some skips."

"You said I needed to take it easy."

"You do, no rolling in garbage. You'll have a gun, stun gun, and me, you'll be fine."

I followed Ranger to the elevator. We went to basement and Ranger suited me up. I started to protest when he put a vest on me but stopped when he put one on too. He gave me a gun. Lester was down there and handed me stun gun. I turned it on to make sure it was charged. It wasn't. No light.

"Lester this isn't charged." My voice was a little hazy even to me.

"Yes it is."

"No, it's not, see no light."

"Bomber, it's charged." He seemed a little annoyed.

"It's not charged, see?" I pressed the button and held it to Lester's arm. Lester went down like a trailer in a tornado. "Oops."

"Babe." There were two Rangers in front of me.

"Ranger? I just remember I took that medicine. I think you're going to need to catch me now." I felt Ranger hold me as I crumbled, my eyes closing.

"Yeah I was wondering when those would kick in."

* * *

**Still good? Please review. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for all the reviews. I think this chapter is a little less dark. Enjoy!

* * *

**

I wake up with a pounding headache and a heavy hard body on top of me. "Get off."

"Sorry Steph," he answers. He lifts himself up and hovers above me, looking in my eyes. "I love you." I don't answer him back and his mouth crashes down to mine and his hands are everywhere, caressing me, touching me. His head bends down and his mouth finds a nipple and I moan and the tears start, because this isn't real. It's a dream. Because Joe's dead and this isn't the morning after the wedding that I don't remember. But I can't wake up and flashes of what I do remember start running through my head. Following the skip to Vegas, being locked in a luggage trunk for 12 hours, Joe finding me. Getting the skip. Celebrating. My third shot of tequila. Waking up the next morning.

I just want to wake up but I can't and I'm crying in the dream as it changes. Suddenly Joe's eyes are blank above me and there's blood dripping from the corner of his mouth and he collapses. And I'm screaming and thrashing and trying to get out from under him.

And then, finally I wake up. Ranger's holding me, shaking me slightly. He's murmuring frantically in Spanish, trying to get me to calm down. My voice stops mid scream and I open my eyes. "I can't understand you, you know." I'm amazed by how calm I sound.

"You scared the hell out of me with all that screaming babe."

"It was just a nightmare."

Ranger cocked an eyebrow at me, "You want to talk about it?"

I bit my lip. I sort of did, but I didn't know that I wanted to talk about with Ranger.

"Steph. What happened? Why did you marry Joe?"

I was silent for a minute, "You've always told me your love didn't come with a ring Ranger. And then you go and mess with my head and tell me you love me, without any qualifications. And then when you left and Joe and I got into a fight, about you. For the first few weeks after that we didn't really talk. I went after a skip in Vegas. The guy managed to lock me into a luggage trunk. I was there about three hours when Lester called Joe, telling him I hadn't moved in the last three hours. Joe called the Vegas PD and gave them my coordinates. They had me out by the time he got there. I was still upset about you, Joe thought it was because of the whole locked in a trunk thing. I ended up getting pretty drunk. We got married. I didn't want to get another divorce. I love Joe. I really do. But…it wasn't enough. We we're making it work, and I was happy…ish…but. I dunno. There was just something wrong, and now I feel horrible. Why couldn't I be happy? Why did I have to want you?" I hadn't meant to say that last part out loud and bit my lip and looked down.

Ranger was silent. He had a serious face on, not quite his blank face but he was hiding something. I decided that I didn't want to get into it right now.

"What time is it?" I asked. It was dark out.

"About five in the morning. You slept over eighteen hours. Come on, get ready, we'll go get breakfast and round up those skips."

"How's Lester?"

"He's fine Steph." Ranger stood up and pulled me out of the bed. He walked me to the bathroom, turned on the water and then left. Huh. I showered quickly knowing he'd be inpatient with me. I wrapped one of his amazing towels around myself and walked out to the bedroom.

"Ella went and got some clothes for you, they're in the closet. If you need anything else let me know." Ranger said. I nodded and he disappeared for his shower. I was sitting on the bed waiting for him when he came out. I watched him get dressed, grinning at his lack of inhibition. He looked good naked and he knew it. Guilt washed over me and I looked away quickly.

It was strange, trying to not lust after Ranger. I'd always lusted after him. Even when Joe and I were going strong, well Ranger was still always there, on my radar.

"Babe," Ranger paused, "Morelli wouldn't want you to feel guilty. He'd want you to be happy." He walked over to me slowly and pulled me into a hug. "It's going to be okay Steph. Eventually everything will be okay." He murmured something in Spanish, probably hoping I wouldn't understand. Even I knew what te amo means though.

"Te amo tambien Ranger." I got the raised eyebrow, "I'm not retarded Ranger. That's pretty simple."

Ranger laughed for a second, something I so rarely got to hear that it made me smile. "I was more surprised you said it back."

"It's something I want you to know. Just in case."

"Babe." Ranger hugged me again.

"Ranger…can we just stay here today? I don't think I'm up for going out."

"Yeah, you wanna stay in the apartment or see your new workspace?" He asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"See my new space!"

"Let's go babe." We rode the elevator down to floor five, where everyone gave me pity looks. Ranger led me past the cubicles without stopping and to the hall way that held his and Tank's offices. He walked past his office and stopped at the one next to it. There was a silver plaque on the door just like on Rangers office but instead of saying "Carlos Manoso CEO", it said "Stephanie Morelli."

Ranger looked suddenly worried, "We can change that if you want…"

"No…no, it's good." Ranger pushed open the door and I smiled. He'd given me my own office.

"Come on, let's go hit the kitchen and get some breakfast. I've got some paperwork to get done if you want to do some searches. I was wondering if you'd like to start taking over some of my responsibilities, doing client reports, estimates, stuff like that?"

"Uh…why?"

"I'd like to be able to go out of town without shutting things down. The men are great, except when it comes to paperwork. Tank tries, but it's just not his thing. It would help to have two of you to run the business when I'm gone, and to help me when I'm here," he said.

I nodded, "sure, I'd like to be able to help out, keep busy." We got to the kitchen and I grabbed a bagel. I hopped up onto the counter and picked it apart as I watched Ranger get a bunch of fruit. "Why don't we have donuts?"

"The men were getting fat." Ranger said as he popped a grape into his mouth.

"You say fat, I say happy." I grabbed a yogurt and dipped in my spoon. I licked it first to make sure I liked it and then sucked the spoon into my mouth.

"Babe." I repeated my motions and Ranger walked up to me silently and positioned himself between my legs. "You're walking the line babe. Be careful." I nodded thoughtfully and ate another bite of yogurt.

I wasn't quite ready to walk the line yet. Ranger backed off and we both went to our offices. A pile of searches has miraculously appeared on my desk while we'd been gone.

The computer was a Macbook Pro, apparently I should feel free to bring my work with me. I booted it up and spent an hour getting used to it and changing my background and other settings. I opened the search programs and tried to make a dent in the files.

After a few hours I stopped and took a quick bathroom break. When I came back the files had multiplied.

"Cripes, I didn't even spill water on you!" I said to the files.

* * *

**Bonus points for anyone who can tell me what the last line refers to. I hope you liked this chapter. More coming soon. Reviews make me happy. Let me know what you think. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow! Many of you got the bonus points!!! Go you!!! Your prize? A new chapter!!!!

* * *

**

I heard a chuckle behind me and I spun to see Ranger leaning on my door frame.

"It's lunch time for us up on the seventh floor." Ranger said. My stomach grumbled and I grinned. I followed Ranger to the elevator. The ride was quiet. Ella was still setting things up when we entered the apartment, she gave me a hug.

"There is a dress in the closet Stephanie." Ella said and left. I walked to the closet and looked. It was a simple black dress, there were black heals to go with it. I wouldn't need a jacket, it was August. I walked back into the kitchen, Ranger looked like he was going to say something but I just shook my head and sat down at the table.

I poked at the food, "What is this?" I asked Ranger.

"Its fish Steph. White fish. Nothing strange." I eyed Ranger wearily and took a bite of the fish. Not bad, I should've known, Ella had made it after all. "Steph are you sure you don't want to go out and do anything today?"

"Can we just rent a movie?" I really wasn't in the mood to go out and catch bad guys.

"Sure, I'll have one of the men go get whatever you want."

"How about we go get it? Like normal people? Who don't have servants?" I asked.

"Okay. We can do that." Ranger said. I looked at him suspiciously.

"You're going to let me out of the house?"

"Sure."

"There is a possible killer after me." I said. Ranger glanced away quickly and when he looked back he had his blank face in place. "Oh god. You know!" I said, my voice sounded slightly panicked.

"We are exploring a possibility. Some guy Morelli put away a while ago got released that day. He's been bragging that he shot you guys."

"So go get the son of a bitch!" I said.

"We already have him Steph." Ranger said in a dark voice. "The men are…working on him as we speak." I stalked over to the elevator and Ranger followed me. We rode down the basement level and right before the doors opened I wrapped my arms around Ranger. He seemed surprised and froze for a second, which was all the time I needed to grab the gun from the small of his back and back out of the elevator. Ranger was still frozen. I pushed the panic key on my key fob. The elevator doors closed, Ranger made a grab but it was too later. The elevator would go all the way up to the roof before returning. No exceptions.

I stalked down the hall and turned the corner. No room to room search even. There were men posted at the door. Lester and Cal.

"Hi boys."

"Ranger just called, said he'd be down in a few minutes. We're supposed to keep you here." Cal said.

"I don't think so, I'm going through that door." I pointed my gun at Cal. Both of the men drew their own guns and I laughed. "We both know you're not going to shoot me, Ranger would kill you. I on the other hand would shoot you." Neither man moved. I shot Cal in the foot.

"JESUS CHRIST BOMBER!" I pointed the gun at Lester and he moved out of the way. I opened the door. There in the middle of the room sat a man I'd never seen before. He'd been beaten a little so far. I locked the door behind me. Tank was in the room.

"Bomber." Tank said, then he shrugged and nodded. Apparently it was my turn now. I turned to the guy and walked so I was standing a few inches from him.

"You killed my husband?" I asked. He didn't respond. I smashed the gun into his cheek. There was a sickening crunch. "I asked you if you killed my husband?" I heard the door open behind me but ignored it. The maniac in the chair grinned.

"Yeah I killed Morelli. Shouldn't you be thanking me? We both know that you really wanted GI Joe over there, not police man Ken. Fuck even Morelli knew that. Its why he had to finally just get you drunk so you would marry him." I slammed the gun into his nose and heard another crunch. This one was more satisfying. "God I heard you were good in bed, no wonder, you're like slut dominatrix Barbie!" I kicked, my foot hitting him in the chest, sending his chair toppling over. I was on him before he hit the ground, wailing on him with the gun and my fist. I was breaking skin with the gun and I was splattered with blood. The bastard wasn't smiling anymore. He was begging me to stop. I didn't. He'd killed my Joe. I was going to kill him.

Ranger grabbed me around the waist and pulled me off. I shot the guy in the forehead. Ranger backed me up against the wall and stood in front of me. "Steph give me my gun." I handed it over. I was crying, on the edge of a breakdown. "Tank. Take care of this. Make it go away, I don't want anything leading to Steph." Ranger tugged me along to the elevator. "Babe."

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, if you hadn't done it I would have. You saved me from a little more smut on my soul."

"God knows you can use all the help you can get." Ranger wrapped his arms around me.

"What am I going to do with you Steph?" I shrugged. I didn't even know what to do with me. We made it to the seventh floor and I managed to avoid a complete breakdown.

In the bathroom I looked at myself and grimaced. I was covered in blood. Ranger stayed with me as I stripped down and got into the shower. I turned the water on scalding hot and scrubbed myself down.

"Stephanie, you're burning yourself." I didn't turn down the temperature. I continued to scrub. "Steph!" Ranger opened the door and turned off the water. He pulled me out and wrapped me in a towel. I didn't cry, I was running on dry now.

"I'll get dressed and we can go to the video store," I said. Ranger gave me a sharp look.

"You still wanna go get a movie?" Ranger asked.

"Yes I do."

"Steph you just…" Ranger trailed off.

"What? I just killed a man? So what? You do it all the time. I don't see you crying. I don't see you even caring."

Ranger was silent for moment. "Steph, does it bother you that I've killed people?"

"No, and this isn't the first time I've killed someone, or been the reason someone was killed, Ranger. It was certainly the most deserved. So does it bother you that I've killed people?"

"No." He didn't look quite convinced that it didn't bother me, but I knew he was telling the truth, it didn't bother him.

Maybe that said something about us, that neither of us judged each other for the things we did. Joe hated when stuff like this happened.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it!!! Reviews please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi! I'm glad everyone is liking the story so far. BabeNBatman: She's only been there a couple of days, she talked to her mom at the hospital, but in true Steph fashion, has avoided everyone sense. I kind of address that in this chapter. :) I think Tank can do anything. Even cover up a murder. AMKP: I cringed when I wrote 'Stephanie Morelli'. LOL. **

**Enjoy the new chapter!!!

* * *

**

I got dressed and we took off for Blockbuster. We looked at all the DVD's and Ranger picked out various romantic comedies.

"Ranger, what's with the movie choices?" I asked and picked up a zombie movie. "Let's get this." I knew he was trying to pick safe bets but zombies would be good.

"Sure, whatever you want. What do you want for dinner? We can grab something on our way back." Ranger letting me pick dinner was also odd. He was treating me with kid gloves and it was strange.

"Can we have Taco Bell?" Ranger would hate Taco Bell, it was cheap, greasy and completely horrible for you, but I loved it.

"Yeah babe, closest one is Broad Street right?"

"You know where Taco Bell is? I'm so proud." I said.

"I know where everything is babe." The sentence lacked the usual flirting tone he'd normally have and I sighed. "You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," I didn't sound okay but there wasn't much I could do about that. I hated that what had happened had affected my relationship with Ranger. I needed a sense of normalcy and I sure as hell wasn't getting it while Ranger was letting me pick the movies and eat Taco Bell.

"I would have picked the zombie movie if we were getting what I want. And the body can't always be a temple. If you want normal I'll give you normal but I'm not sure you'll like that."

"I need it."

"Fine, after dinner we'll watch the movie and go to bed. And I'm actually going to sleep in my bed. And then we'll wake up at 5am for a workout." Ranger said in an irritated voice.

"Okay." I said. I thought for a second, "I never asked you to not sleep in your bed."

"I know, I was trying to be considerate."

"And I love you for that, but I'm the one staying in your house, I should be trying to fit in, you shouldn't have to change your life to accommodate me. Maybe I should go back to Morelli's. Maybe I need to actually converse with the outside world. I barely saw my mom and I haven't talked to anyone else."

"Babe, you can do whatever you think is best. I'll have men with you if you decide to go to Morelli's."

I stalled for a second. I don't know why but I had just figured Ranger would come with me. I'm such an idiot. Yeah I'm sure Ranger would love to come stay at my dead husband's house. "I think I need to try. Staying at the house."

"Okay, I'll take you over now if you want. You can leave Rex at my place until you decide what you want to do. Four men inside, four men outside."

"One inside, two outside."

"Inside guy will get lonely. Two and Two. Final offer." Ranger said.

"Okay. I get to pick the guys?" I asked. Ranger nodded. "Lester and Tank inside, Hal and Cal outside."

"No can do on Cal." Ranger said. "He's on leave. You shot him in the foot."

Oh. Crap. I did, didn't I? Oooh Boy Ranger had to be pissed about that. He hadn't even said a word. Ranger hated when I injured his men. "Bobby?"

"You got it babe."

"You're being too accommodating again."

"Sorry I'll work harder on being an ass." Ranger pulled into the Taco Bell drive through and looked staggered by the amount of food I ordered. He called the guys on the way to the house and walked in with me, doing a thorough check. "Looks good babe. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Wait…stay and eat? Please?" I asked. I didn't want to be alone. I was still rooted in the entryway. Ranger nodded and I followed him into the living room. I sat in Joe's spot on the couch, leaving mine for Ranger. We divvied up the food and I turned on the TV. I flipped through the list of TiVo'ed shows. I found Lost and turned it on. Ranger had never seen Lost and he asked a constant stream of questions. Jesus I don't think that in the three years I'd known him I'd heard him talk as much as I had in the past two days.

"Sorry, I can be quiet."

"No! It's good. I like it. I like when you talk." It takes my mind off the fact that Joe should be sitting here, complaining that they killed off his favorite character and come on, what the fuck is with the smoke monster?

The guys arrived halfway through Lost and we watched the rest of the episode together. Tank had brought Bob who was thrilled to see me but upset when he ran the house and couldn't find Joe.

Ranger got up to leave after the show was over and I walked him to the door. I hugged him and at first he was tense but then he relaxed and hugged me back. I felt his lips on my hair and smiled. "Thank you Ranger. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Bright and early. I'll bring breakfast." He gave me one last squeeze and walked back to the Turbo.

"I like my breakfast filled with custard and frosted." I called after him. I watched him angle in the car and take off. My own personal Batman. I walked out to the SUV at the curb and said hi to Cal and Bobby. "You two want anything?

"No bomber, we're fine." I said goodnight and went back into the house. Lester and Tank were eating left over taco's and fighting about whether to watch House or Supernatural. I voted for Supernatural and Tank sighed. We finished the episode and I went upstairs. I was exhausted and I automatically started putting clothes in the hamper when I got to our room. I was holding a pair of Joe's jeans when it hit me. Why even bother washing them? I grabbed the sweatshirt he had warn the morning he got shot and smelled it. It smelled like him. His body wash and his deodorant. I stripped down and pulled the sweatshirt on.

I crawled into bed, and curled up, bringing the sleeve of the shirt right up to my face. I fell asleep thinking of Joe.

This time I realized it was a dream right away, but it was so nice I didn't care. It was last summer when we'd gone to Point Pleasant. We'd played in the waves all day and then made love on the beach in the middle of the night when no one was around. A cop had caught us and Morelli had flashed his badge and made the problem go away.

The dream turned into a nightmare. The cop didn't leave. He took his gun out and shot Joe. I woke up screaming again. Tank came busting in the room gun drawn. I was crying and embarrassed. I jumped out of bed and locked myself in the bathroom. What the hell was wrong with me? I pounded my fists against the wall. I could hear Tank talking, trying to get me to come out. I slid down the wall and cried some more. It couldn't have been more than 15 minutes later when the voice on the other side of the door changed.

"Babe? It's me. Can you let me in?" I reached up and unlocked the door. Ranger pushed it open and came inside, closing it behind him. "Steph what happened?"

"It was just another nightmare." I said without looking up. "You didn't have to come all the way over here."

"I was awake." He slid down the wall so he was sitting next to me. We sat like that for a while, without talking. Finally I stood up to stretch. "You're still tired, get some sleep. I'll be back in a few hours." Ranger said.

"Stay." The word popped out of my mouth before I could contemplate it. Ranger looked at me, surprise on his face. Joe would want me to be happy. Joe would want me to be happy. I kept repeating the phrase over and over in my head. "Stay with me, please?" Ranger nodded. I crawled into the bed and Ranger stripped off his shirt. He left his sweat pants on and crawled in next to me. I curled myself into him and pressed my lips to his bare chest. "Thank you." Ranger started rubbing my back and I was asleep in minutes.

When I woke up Ranger was still holding me but I could tell he was asleep. His breathing was even and he looked so calm. I shifted a little and started running my fingers up and down his side gently. I played with the waist of his sweats, running my fingers over his abdomen.

"Babe you're walking that line again." He said without opening his eyes, his voice half asleep.

"I know." It felt good to be touching Ranger. Maybe this is what I needed to feel better. Tilted my face up and found Ranger looking at me. I ran my hand down his hip, tugging his sweat pants down an inch or so.

"Steph." It was warning. He'd give me whatever I wanted, but I better make damn sure of what I wanted. I nodded to him and slid one of my legs over him, so I was straddling him. His eyes were smoldering and I could see the beginnings of a smile on his lips. I kissed him, my tongue finding its way into his mouth. He let me take the lead until finally he couldn't handle it anymore. He reached up to tug off my sweatshirt and I froze. Because it wasn't my sweatshirt. It was Morelli's. Ranger stopped midmotion and looked at me.

I got off of Ranger and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I took a few minutes to wash my face and answer nature. I walked back out. Ranger wasn't in the bedroom anymore. I put on some sweatpants went downstairs. He was fully clothed talking to Tank and Lester.

"Steph we have to leave in two hours. The guys need to shower and change and so do I, would you come back to RangeMan with me?" I expected him to be mad but he sounded normal.

"Yeah. My stuff is there anyway." I fed Bob and made sure he had enough water. Tank had already walked him. We all shuffled out, me still in the sweatshirt and sweatpants. I showered first when we got to RangeMan. When I was done I wrapped myself in a towel. "Do you mind if I dry my hair while you're showering?" I asked. I hadn't turned off the water and Ranger stripped quickly and hopped in. I watched him as I dried my hair, looking for some sign that he was frustrated or mad at me.

"Babe, I feel like I'm showering on Big Brother. What's up?"

"Sorry." I looked away. I swiped on some makeup and pulled my hair into a ponytail. Ranger got out of the shower and I caught myself watching him again as he rubbed some type of goo into his hair. He picked up his razor but I shook my head. "I like you with the stubble." Ranger raised an eyebrow but put down the razor.

I slipped into my dress and shoes and sat to watch Ranger. He pulled out a suit and put it on silently. It was a very well made suit, I could only make out the bulge of his guns and knives because I'd seen him put them on. We walked to the elevator silently. We got inside and Ranger turned to me, "I talked to your mother yesterday. She suggested that we not arrive together. Apparently the whole Burg is up in arms because you've been staying with me."

I thought for a minute. "I don't care. Let them think whatever they want." I grabbed his hand as we stepped off the elevator and slid into the Turbo. Ranger drove us to the cemetery in silence and I thought about how strange this must look to other people. I wasn't sure I cared, because I knew Joe would want me to get through this however I could. And why should I worry about anyone else but Joe?

We got to the cemetery and Ranger kept a respectable distance from me as we walked to the group of people already assembled. I was hugged, I greeted people, and talked to Mrs. Morelli. The other Mrs. Morelli that is.

"We missed you at the viewing last night Stephanie."

"I know, I'm sorry…I just…I…" I shook my head. I started to get teary eyed.

"It's ok dear." Mrs. Morelli had tears in her eyes now too.

Grandma Bella came over to me looking angry.

"How dare you come to your husband's funeral with that scum? I should put the eye on you, you little hussy!" I glared at Bella.

"Yes Bella, MY HUSBAND! My husband who would not want me walking around without a bodyguard after someone tried to kill me! So shut the hell up!" I was crying now and Ranger led me away from Bella.

"What happened to 'who cares'?" Ranger asked.

"She pissed me off."

"Well she did call you a hussy," Ranger said.

I gave him a sharp look, "I wasn't angry because she called me a hussy. I was angry because she called you scum." I mumbled.

"Babe." He led me over to a seat and I stayed put until the end of the service. I didn't sob but I was crying the entire time. The coffin was open and we filed by one at a time. I looked in at Joe and went numb again. I noticed that he wasn't wearing his wedding ring.

I looked at Mrs. Morelli, "Where is his ring?"

"Sweetie they were expensive rings, we didn't think that…" She trailed off. I guess I had an option. I could keep Joe's ring or put it on him. He would want me to keep it. I nodded to Mrs. Morelli and she found the ring in her purse and handed it to me. I bent down and kissed Joe on the forehead.

Ranger walked me back to the car. "Do you want to go to Mrs. Morelli's house Steph?" I nodded. I should at least make an appearance.

"Can we stop at the Jewelry store?" Ranger nodded yes. It took only took us a few minutes to get to the store. Ranger started to get out but I motioned for him to sit down. "I think this is something I should do on my own."

Joe and I had picked out our rings a few days after we had gotten married. I had a 1.5-carat princess cut white diamond on a platinum band; our wedding bands were thick plain platinum and they were identical except his was much bigger.

I walked into the shop and a lady behind the counter asked me how she could help. I said I needed a platinum chain. She showed me a fragile platinum chain and I nodded. I gave her my credit card and then threaded Joe's band onto the chain. I thought for a moment and then pulled off my own engagement ring and band and added them to the necklace. The clerk helped me put it on and I walked back out to the car.

Ranger saw the new addition and nodded. Being married hadn't been a big deal to me, but it had meant everything to Joe. There was nothing more meaningful that I could do than to acknowledge Joe as my husband.

* * *

**I've never actually been to a funeral, so I hope I did okay. I tried to keep it short, as it's more about her journey to Ranger than her journey with Joe. :) Please review. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey all! Thanks again for the reviews. I was half asleep when I edited this chapter so I hope it makes sense. Enjoy!

* * *

**

At Mrs. Morelli's I tried to sit quietly and be ignored but that didn't seem to be in the cards. I was being treated like a typical Burg widow. All the old lady Burg widows were fawning over me and it was starting to get suffocating. I was about ready to scream when a guy in a suit walked over to me.

"Mrs. Morelli? I'm Jason Scott. I was your husband's lawyer. Is there somewhere we can talk privately?" He asked. I nodded and led him into the rarely used study. I gave Ranger a nod as I passed him.

"Please call me Stephanie."

We sat down and Mr. Scott looked at me, "First of all let me say that I'm truly sorry about Joe, he was a good friend. Stephanie I've had a chance to look over Joe's latest will, he had it updated right after the two of you got married. Everything goes to you, the house, the money in his accounts, stocks and bonds, and his life insurance. You're also entrusted with the guardianship of one Bob Morelli." That brought a smile to my face. "Mrs. Morelli with a few signatures you'll become a very rich woman."

I raised an eyebrow, "I can't imagine that the house is worth that much and I don't think that Morelli was the best saver or investor out there."

"Well the house is in a good neighborhood; Joe's done a lot of work on it. With an updated kitchen and bathroom, you could easily get half a million. Joe made quite a bit as a detective and socked most of it away. He has about $50,000 in savings, a few thousand in his checking account. Another $250,000 in bonds and investments, stocks currently valued at around $300,000 and a 1 million dollar life insurance policy."

I looked at the lawyer skeptically, "That's over 2 million dollars."

"Easily. Before you got married, he had all the money sitting in an account. I expect the money that is in bonds and stocks to grow exponentially over the next few years."

"Wow." I hadn't been worried about money, I'd survived on my own before. But this was…completely unexpected.

"Joe wanted you to be well taken care of Stephanie. He loved you very much." Mr. Scott opened his briefcase and pulled out an envelope, "He asked that I give this to you if anything should ever happen to him. I'll call you to arrange having the papers signed."

"Thank you," I said. He left the room and I sat with the letter for a minute. The outside read "Cupcake." I opened it and smiled at Joe's scrawled writing.

Cupcake,

Last week we got married. Two days ago you agreed to stay my wife, even though you only married me because you were drunk, and made me the happiest man in the world. Today I got shot at and I realized how dangerous my job is, how it could take me from you. So every year from now on I'm going to add a letter to this file, just in case.

I hope you're sitting with another sixty letters right now, or forty at least. But if you're not, if this is only one of five or ten, or god forbid, the only letter, than I'm so sorry for leaving you too early.

Stephanie, I want you to know how much I love you, and to know that all I want for you is a long, healthy, happy life. So please don't live how others want you to live. Continue to be the stubborn woman that I love so much. Don't be afraid to love again. Don't be afraid to love him. Don't just float through life, be cliché, live like you're dying. But use a little caution, I don't want to see you too soon.

Remember-Be happy, love, live.

I love you Cupcake.

Joe

I read the letter several times, until it was engrained in my mind and I had tears streaming down my cheeks. I put the letter carefully back into its envelope and walked back out into the crowed. I grabbed Ranger's hand as I walked by and he followed me obligingly. We got outside and Ranger made a move to hug me but I shrugged him off and got into the car.

"Are you okay?" He asked. I looked up to him and gave him the best smile I could muster.

"I will be." I was silent for a moment, deciding what I should tell him. "The lawyer said Joe left me a lot of money. And this letter." I set it down on the dashboard. Ranger nodded but made no move to read the letter. He just started the car and drove back towards RangeMan. I was getting a headache. "I think I'm going to sell the house. We weren't going to keep it anyway. Can I stay with you until I find something? I know it's kind of a big imposition but I'll need to redo the kitchen and bathrooms and it will show better if it's empty." I was rambling and I knew it.

"You are not an imposition Stephanie." Ranger said in a dark voice.

"I must be running up a pretty damn big tab." I said.

"Babe didn't we go over this a while ago? There is no tab. I do what I do because I love you."

There it was again, the whole love thing. I didn't quite know what to think of that. He said he loved me with no qualifications. But that didn't mean he wanted a relationship. Joe had given me permission to love him, but that didn't mean it would work out. I didn't know if I could take anymore heartache.

I didn't say anything to Ranger as we drove home. We rode the elevator in silence and ate the chicken Ella brought up for us without saying a word. It wasn't awkward silence, we were just both in our own heads. My head was filled with buzzing from my headache.

I followed Ranger into his room and stripped down to my underwear. "Can I borrow a shirt to sleep in?" Ranger nodded and I grabbed a black wifebeater and tugged it on. It would have been skin tight on Ranger but the only part of me it hugged was my boobs. It wasn't quite late enough for bed so I went back to the living room and turned on the TV. I brought up the TiVo list expecting it to be empty but found a bunch of my favorite shows. I started Jon & Kate + 8 and Ranger settled down next to me. I curled up against him.

"What is the point of this show? And are you feeling okay?" Ranger asked after a minute.

"The point is that they have twins and sextuplets. It's just about their crazy lives. I feel okay, just achy. My headache is getting worse." We watched for another few minutes.

"How many do you want?" Ranger asked.

"How many what?" I glanced at Ranger with my eyebrow raised.

"Kids," Ranger answered.

I thought for a minute. This reeked of a trick question. I'd thought about it recently, and I knew I wanted two or three kids. I didn't think Ranger wanted anymore kids though. The truth is the best policy though. Right? I sighed, "Two or three I think." Ranger nodded but didn't say anything.

We went back to watching the show and after a few minutes he said, "I think two or three is a good number." He didn't take his eyes off the TV. I contemplated that comment until the show was over. Did Ranger want to have more kids? With me? Maybe he just felt like he needed to say something.

"I'm going to sleep. You going to keep watching?"

"No, got an early morning tomorrow." He turned off the TV and followed me into the bedroom. I crawled into the left side of the bed, knowing Ranger liked being nearest to door. I watched him put his gun on the nightstand and take of his watch. He stripped off his shirt and then his pants as he walked into the closet. He came out with sweatpants on.

"You don't usually wear clothes to bed."

"Didn't want to make you uncomfortable." He said and got in beside me. The bed was huge and I automatically scooted closer, laying my head on his chest and draping an arm over his bare stomach.

"Is this okay?" I asked.

"Of course. You want some medicine? You're really warm."

"No. It's just a headache and a little soreness I'm okay. Just a little tired. It's been a long day." I murmured against his chest.

"Wake me up if you need anything babe." Ranger started to stroke my hair. "Night Steph."

I was half-asleep now, "Love you…sleep good."

I heard him say, "Love you babe," before I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up a while later but I couldn't focus my eyes on the clock. My head was pounding and I was stiff all over. "Ranger?" My voice was barely a whisper. I felt him shift bedside me.

"Babe?"

"Ranger I don't feel good." He sat up and I felt his cold hand on my face.

"God babe you're burning up. What else is wrong?" I couldn't quite remember to tell him. Everything was hazy and too warm. I turned my head to watch Ranger get out of bed and it hurt really bad. I should tell him that.

"It hurts Ranger." He was pulling on jeans and t-shirt.

"What hurts Steph?" He grabbed a pair of my yoga pants and pulled them on me.

I tried to remember, "My neck and head. They hurt bad." He pulled out his cell phone.

"Lester? Meet me downstairs now!" Ranger snapped his phone shut and shoved his gun into the waistband of his jeans. "Okay Steph, I'm going to pick you up, I'm sorry if hurts."

"Ranger where are we going? I'm just a little tired. I just need to swim."

"It's okay babe, were going to go see a doctor." He scooped me up and I heard myself moan but didn't remember making the sound. He carried me to the elevator and pushed the button on his remote. Lester was downstairs waiting for us.

"What's wrong with Bomber?" He asked as he opened the backdoor of the expensive SUV. What was it called? Why couldn't I remember? Too tired I guess.

Ranger lowered me into the backseat gently and then lifted my head and crawled in, settling my head in his lap. "She's sick, you're driving." Ranger gave Lester the keys and he jumped in and reversed out of the garage quickly. Ranger turned on the overhead light and I cringed.

"No Ranger, I don't like that." Ranger felt my forehead again. I was so cold.

"Babe you're not cold, you're burning up. But were almost to the ER and they'll make you feel better."

"I'm not sure about my insurance. I just switched to Joe's. Ranger where is Joe? He should be here if I'm sick." Ranger glanced up at Lester who shrugged his shoulders. Ranger looked worried. I wonder why? I would be okay.

"It's okay babe, we're going to take care of everything." Ranger said. I felt the car stop and Lester hopped out and opened the back door. He helped Ranger get me out and then Ranger scooped me back up into his arms carefully. I thought my head might pound out of my skull.

"I love when you hold me Ranger. It feels nice. Besides my head pounding." We walked through some doors and it was too bright on the other side. I closed my eyes and turned my head into Ranger's chest.

"What's wrong with her?" I heard someone ask. Someone grabbed my wrist and felt for a pulse.

"I'm pretty sure I'm alive." I said. Ranger shushed me.

"She's got a fever, she said earlier her head and neck hurt, its worse now, light hurts her eyes, she isn't making a lot of sense, she's a little out of it."

I was laid down on a bed. It was a moving bed. That was awesome. I wasn't moving though. I still hadn't opened my eyes.

"Name?"

"Stephanie Plum."

"Morelli." I mumbled.

"Sorry, Stephanie Morelli." He said something else to woman and then she was touching me again.

"Stephanie can you open your eyes?"

I grudgingly opened one eye. The lady was pretty. Ranger looked so worried.

"Don't worry Ranger. I'll be fine." I said and patted his hand. He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. The lady poked a needle into my arm. They were talking some more but I was watching the equipment they were hooking me up too.

"It came on so fast…" Ranger said.

"I'm pretty sure she has bacterial meningitis. I'm going to do a spinal tap and the start her on some broad spectrum antibiotics. Is she allergic to any medications?"

"No. Just walnuts." Ranger said. Huh. He knew I was allergic to walnuts. I realized there was more than one person working on me. That seemed like overkill. Someone turned me onto my side.

"You're going to feel a small pinch and then you should be numb." I felt the pinch and thought it wasn't so bad. "Ok now a bigger pinch and some pressure. It might hurt a little, even with the numbing medicine." There was a lot of pressure and a little pain. Cripes. I was fine why were they doing this?

"Has she had any close contact with anyone? Sharing food or drinks, kissing?"

"Just me."

"We'll need to check you out too."

"After you're done with her. I feel fine. I'm in the military; I've had every vaccine known to man."

I felt the need to speak up, "He's my Ranger." The lady smiled. I was getting sleepy again.

"Okay Stephanie we're giving you some fluids and antibiotics. Go ahead and sleep if you're tired."

"Don't leave me Ranger." I said as I shut my eyes. I heard him whisper something before I fell asleep.

* * *

**Good? Bad? Give me some feedback. :) Thanks! More to come. Check out my other stories if you havent'!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Enjoy!

* * *

**

I woke up several times, each time feeling completely horrible and very fuzzy. Every time I woke up Ranger was there. Sometimes sitting and holding my hand, sometimes slumped over in his chair with his head resting on my bed. He talked to me but I was usually too fuzzy to respond and fell back to sleep quickly. I was guessing that they were keeping me pretty well doped up.

I don't know how long it was until I woke up feeling faintly human. Ranger was sleeping again, holding my hand. I squeezed his hand gently and started stroking my thumb over his skin. He jolted awake and looked up at me.

"Babe. You okay?" I must've been out of it for a while. His five o'clock shadow had turned into a few days worth of scruff, his hair was wild and his clothes were rumpled. It was the least put together I'd ever seen him but damned if he didn't still look super sexy.

"I think so. What's going on?" I realized I was sick but other than that there wasn't much in my brain at the moment.

"You have bacterial meningitis. You've been here a few days now, you'll be fine. They started you on the antibiotics soon enough." I could see relief etched on his face.

"Yeah thanks to you. I would have stayed home and died quietly if I hadn't been with you. You're not going to get sick are you?" I asked.

"No I've been vaccinated and they gave me a course of antibiotics just in case. They need to know where you got this from Steph, we can't find anyone else who has it. Have you kissed anyone? Shared food or a drink?"

"No…just you…Oh! Tyler Giomotti! I brought him in two weeks ago and he kissed me. Ugh. I gargled for like two hours." Ranger nodded and pulled out his cell phone.

"Tank, talk to Connie and get an address for Tyler Giomotti. Send a car over to check on him." Ranger hung up and then pressed the call button by my bed.

A nurse came in, "Well it's certainly good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

"Like crap," I answered. The nurse laughed and Ranger talked to her for a minute about my skip and then she left to go get the doctor.

"Steph, do you remember what happened? With Joe?" I looked at Ranger and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah…?" Ranger nodded and squeezed my hand again, "Ranger how long have you been here? I think you're getting a bit loopy."

"Babe you were asking for Joe, asking where he was." I grimaced and Ranger reached up to brush my hair off of my forehead, "It's okay babe, I'm just glad you're doing better. I'm going to go get cleaned up a little now that your awake, is that okay with you? The bathroom is right through there." He pointed to a door by the corner.

"A room with a full bathroom. Cripes, this must cost a fortune."

"Don't worry, your RangeMan insurance covers it."

"I have RangeMan insurance?" I asked.

"You do now." Ranger said with a grin. I wasn't sure I even wanted to know how he'd pulled that one off. I shifted and groaned. That hurt.

"When will I be better?" I asked.

"Babe it could be a while. Do you need anything?"

I shook my head, "Go get cleaned up. I'll be fine until your back." He nodded and got up, I grabbed his hand so he had to stop and look back. "Thank you Ranger." I smiled and he gave me one of his rare smiles.

"Anytime babe." He walked into the bathroom and I heard the shower start. The nurse came back in and look surprised.

"He left?" She asked and started doing something with my IV.

"He's in the shower."

"That man hasn't left your side for more than a minute since you came in four days ago." What? He hadn't left at all? Wow. Ranger was constantly doing things that amazed me. "The man won't even pick up a magazine. He just sits with you. Head over heels in love with you."

I smiled, "he's a very good friend." The nurse gave me an 'are you crazy look'. "My husband died a little over a week ago," I said.

"Oh, I'm sorry," She said.

I shook my head, "It's complicated. But like you said, I have him." I nodded toward the door and smiled. The nurse smiled.

"We're brining you some food. You've been on IV nutrition for a few days now; we're going to start you off easy." She said and the shower turned off. "It's almost noon, your parents should be here soon." She told me before she left.

Ranger's phone rang; it was sitting on the table next to my bed. Ranger opened the bathroom door, a towel wrapped around his waist, "Will you get that Steph?" I was surprised but quickly answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Bomber! You must be feeling better!" Tank said.

"Not good but better. Hold on a sec, Ranger is right here." Ranger walked over, still in his towel and took the phone. He leaned against the window frame and I watched him as he talked. His towel was slipping down his hips and I was willing it lower with my mind. The door burst open and Grandma Mazur walked in. Ranger grabbed his towel and held it into place and slipped back into the bathroom, still talking to Tank.

"Well Stephanie now you must be feeling better if you have naked men cavorting around your room."

"He wasn't naked, and he only came out to get his phone." My mom and dad came in and walked over towards me to give me hugs.

"Looked to me like he was giving you a bit of a show. I certainly wouldn't mind a show from that one." Grandma said. Grandma had been a closet free spirit when Grandpa was alive. When he went to join the never ending poker game in the sky, Grandma had come bursting out of her closet and we couldn't wrangle her back in no matter how hard we tried. Personally I thought grandma was awesome, I think my dad harbored thoughts of stuffing her in the dryer and turning it on high though.

Ranger came back out and excused himself, saying he would be back in a while. I talked with my parents and grandma for a while. A nurse finally brought me lunch, which consisted of soup and Jell-O. I don't like Jell-O and didn't eat it.

My parents and Grandma had to get home to start dinner and Ranger walked in almost immediately after they left. He had flowers and balloons.

"Ranger! You didn't have to do that," I said.

"I figured the room could use some brightening up. Here, I picked up some magazines too. I figured you would want something to do. The lady in the gift shop suggested these ones." He pulled out Cosmo, People, OK! and Us Weekly.

"Thank you. Ranger, you're dead on your feet, go home and get some sleep."

"I'm fine here." I knew he wasn't going to leave. I scooted over to the very side of my bed and patted the space beside me. Ranger shook his head no, "You'll be uncomfortable."

"Carlos Manoso get your ass in this bed," I said. He grinned and got in beside me. I cuddled into his side and opened Cosmo.

"Wow you have a g-spot, who knew?" Ranger said.

"Oh I think you already knew that," I said with a grin and a wink. I continued reading until Ranger's breathing evened out and I knew he was asleep. I put down my magazine and burrowed a little deeper into his side and fell asleep as well.

"Babe, wake up, the doctor is here." I opened my eyes and yawned, Ranger slipped out of the bed and I met Dr. Yang. She was nice and very young. She checked me over, repeated that I had bacterial meningitis and would probably be in the hospital for at least another week or two.

"What? No! I have a job. I have to work." And I will go bat shit crazy if I have to sit in this room for two weeks.

"Don't worry about work Steph." Ranger said.

"But I have skips! And I just promised to start working for you!" I said. I moved to fast and my neck felt like it might snap. I realized the doctor had left the room, she must have sensed the coming argument.

"Babe you have one job right now and that is to get better. If it makes you feel better I'll have someone bring your laptop and some searches."

"Or you could bring them tomorrow when you come in," I said.

Ranger shook his head, "I'll stay here tonight."

"Ranger you need a good night's sleep. Not to mention that you have a company to run."

"Please don't argue Stephanie." He stood up and came over to me. "Would you please just relax? For me?"

"For you." I sighed, "Oh hey what happened with Tyler?"

"Tyler was very much dead when Tank found him."

"Eww." I sat for a moment, "Oh my god! Ranger! I'm not going to die am I?"

"No! You are going to be fine. Remember, we got you here early enough that you'll be fine." I think my giggle might have tipped him off that I had been joking. "Sometimes I think you're more trouble than your worth." Ranger said with a grin.

"Maybe you should go home then."

"Mm, can't. I'm so madly in love with you that I can't stand to leave your side for even one minute. Runaway with me Steph? We can live on the beach and eat coconuts!" Ranger said dramatically. I giggled.

"What's with you today? You're in a strangely good mood considering I'm on my death bed."

Ranger swooped down and kissed me quickly on the lips, "Babe I'm in a good mood because you're not on your death bed. You had me scared out of my mind."

"I like good mood Ranger. I bet good mood Ranger would be willing to sneak me in a hamburger, wouldn't he?"

"Good mood Ranger would not be willing to sneak you in a hamburger. Because good mood Ranger doesn't want to see you puke. Good mood Ranger will give you anything un-food related though."

"A kitten?"

"You're in the hospital, they don't allow kittens."

"I want a kitten." I said.

"Babe."

"Ranger!" Ranger grinned at me and I pouted. "Please Ranger? Just one ittle bitty kitten?"

"Bob would eat a kitten babe."

"No he wouldn't! He's living with Tank's cats."

"Drop it Steph." Ranger said. I dropped it.

"Fine a kiss," I said.

Ranger looked at me and cocked an eyebrow, "You want a kiss?" I nodded. "Well I certainly can't say no to that." He leaned over and hovered above me for a moment and then brought his lips down on mine. I opened my mouth and let my tongue trace along his lip. He pulled back, "babe." He had a slight smile on his face.

"I'd love my laptop and some DVD's." I said. Ranger nodded.

"Would it make you happy if I went home and changed, checked in on business and came back?"

"Yep."

"Okay, two hours max though." He leaned over and brushed another kiss across my lips. "Stay healthy." And then he was gone. I called the nurse.

"So…is there any way we could set it up so I could, like, not pee in a tube?"

"Well you do seem to be feeling better. I'll get the doctor in here."

And thirty minutes later I was minus a tube. They wouldn't take out my IV nutrition line though.

When Ranger got back he had a duffle bag and my laptop. "Guess what! I can pee on my own!"

Ranger looked at me for a moment, "Good to know. I have a surprise for you." He went and closed the door, jamming a chair under it. He went to the duffle bag and opened it up. "Close your eyes." I did and he sat something on my lap. I opened my eyes and nearly screamed.

"A kitten! Ranger! Oh my god. It's so cute! Is it a boy or a girl?" The kitten was pure white and fluffy.

"A girl. And before you say it, yes I know one kitten would get lonely, so…" And he pulled out another kitten, this one pure black and just as fluffy.

"Oh! Thank you so much Ranger!"

"You're welcome babe. That one is a boy. What are their names?"

I thought for a moment and then held up the black kitten, "I shall call him squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my squishy." I said. Ranger looked at me like I was nuts. "That was a joke…a line from a movie. I think this is Batman." I picked up the white kitten, "And this one is Batgirl." The kittens were crawling all over me and I was cooing over them.

"Steph I gotta sneak them back out to Tank, they'll be waiting for you when you get home." Ranger loaded the kittens back into the duffle bag and left. I looked at the DVD's Ranger had brought. He had the first four seasons of Lost and the first three seasons of Weeds. Two of my favorite shows that he didn't watch. I was staring at them trying to figure out what I meant when Ranger spoke. I looked up to see him leaning against the doorframe.

"I figured we could watch them so I could watch the new seasons with you when they come on. I thought maybe…well I thought maybe you would want to stay with me for a while. Or in one of the RangeMan apartments."

"Like…living together?"

"Like roommates."

"That sleep in the same bed?" I asked with a grin. Rangers smile faltered a little. "I'd like that. I don't want to lead you on though…I'm not sure when I'll be ready for…" I trailed off, I couldn't think of a way to say, 'I really want to fuck you but I can't yet and I don't know when it would be appropriate.' and not sound like a slut.

"That's okay Steph. We can do whatever you want, go as slow as you need."

"Okay."

"Okay. You want to start with Lost or Weeds?"

"Weeds." Half way through season one Ranger was addicted. Also slightly terrified that a show like this even existed. We watched all of season one which was only a few hours total and then dinner came for me. More soup and Jell-O. I looked at Ranger very seriously, "I fucking hate Jell-O." Ranger laughed.

* * *

**Hope you liked it!!! Leave me some feedback please. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, here is chapter eight. Something got confused early, sorry about that. Thanks to everyone who let me know! Hope you all enjoy this chapter. **

**I did get a review stating that this story isn't cannon. I'm not well versed in fan fiction lingo, however I havent changed anything in JE's world, I've just added new plot after the last book. I'm sorry if I should have posted some sort of warning that it was little more dark than what JE usually writes. :) **

**Sue: Yeah I love me some Dory!**

**Angie: Sorry, please don't hate me. **

**Sasha: I really don't know. I personally love Jell-O. It just popped into my head. Lol. That tends to happen. Hehe. **

**Thanks for all the looooooove! **

**

* * *

**

A week later I was going crazy. The antibiotics had done the trick and I was feeling better but I wasn't at one hundred percent. Truthfully I wasn't even at seventy-five percent. I wasn't above pretending to be at one hundred percent though.

"I need real food. Please? Ranger?" I was pleading. I'd been living on hospital food for much too long. "Come on, one burger Ranger? I've eaten a hospital burger!"

"And you threw up on me!" He was getting ready to go out really quick and I wasn't above pleading.

"That wasn't my fault. It had onion. I hate onion." Okay, so I hadn't thrown up because of the onion, but what he didn't know couldn't hurt him.

"Babe. Don't lie. No burger. I'll bring you chicken strips though."

"Really?" Ranger nodded and brushed a kiss over my lips before he left. Ranger was still being very careful with me. He'd occasionally start to flirt but he would catch himself and stop before anything got too serious.

Ranger had been gone for about ten minutes when the day nurse bustled in. "Mrs. Morelli you have a visitor, a Mr. Scott?"

I nodded, "please send him in." I pushed the button on my bed that would raise it so I was sitting more. It made my neck hurt a little but I knew it would adjust. Joe's lawyer walked in.

"Stephanie, it's good to see you, but not like this," he said.

I grinned, "Yeah I'm not too happy with it either. What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"Well two things actually, one I brought all the papers for you to sign." He spent a few minutes explaining things to me and I signed everything, taking control of Joe's assets. "The second thing is more of a personal question. I was wondering what you were going to do with the house?"

"I'm going to sell it. A house is a lot of upkeep and it's not my thing. Why?"

"Well, my daughter is looking for her first house and I think it would be perfect for her. I was wondering if you'd let me know when you put it on the market?"

"No problem, it should be soon." Jason said his goodbyes and I sat and waited impatiently for my chicken. The doctor came to check on me and was impressed with my improvement.

"Well I think you're going to be ready to leave us in a few days. I want you on IV antibiotics until the two week mark and then you'll be free to go."

"Ranger got to take pills," I pointed out. The doctor chuckled.

"Mr. Manoso wasn't sick, his antibiotics were just precautionary." I gave her my best Ranger impersonation and she sighed, "Three more days. Where is Mr. Manoso? I need to talk to him about the men."

"What men?" I asked.

"Your security, they're starting to scare the other patients."

I gritted my teeth, "I'll let him know." She left the room after making a note on my chart. So far I'd only gotten up to go to the bathroom, but I was getting stronger. I unhooked myself from various machines and got up, pulling my IV with me. I walked to the door and looked out to see Bobby and Hal guarding my door.

"Bomber you're not supposed to be up." Bobby said nervously.

"You mean I'm not supposed to see you!" I was angry, Ranger had made it seem like I wasn't being guarded. I didn't mind being guarded as much as the fact that he hadn't told me.

"Well…yeah…you weren't supposed to know. Ranger didn't want you stressed out."

"Is there an actual threat?"

"No."

"Oh wonderful, so basically he's just bleeding money for no reason. That is just great." I went back into my room and got back in the bed. Ranger walked in a few minutes later.

"I got your chicken." He said with a smile. Oh that was so not going to work. One smile was not going to melt me. Even if Ranger smiles were as rare as a four leaf clover.

"I'm not hungry." I gave him a pointed glare.

"Babe. I just want you to be safe." He gave me a sad glance. One that made me melt a little.

"I don't like you bleeding money for me. And I don't like you not telling me about it. You want to put security on me for no reason? Then we walk about it. If we're going to be friends, or more, than you can't just do whatever you want without asking."

"I would have done it whether you approved or not Steph." Hey at least he was honest.

"But at least I would have been known to be pissed at you," I said.

"Are you pissed at me?" He asked. I nodded yes and he came closer, stopping only when his lips were an inch from my ear, "You know I only do it because I care right?" he whispered. I nodded again. "Don't be mad babe." And he kissed my neck, "Please?" He moved and pressed his lips against mine, his tongue seeking entrance. I moaned and he pulled back. "You still mad?"

"Yup," I answered. Ranger slammed his hand down on the bedside table and started muttering in a mixture of Spanish, English and what I thought might be Italian. "Are you speaking Italian?"

"I only know the swear words." He said. He pulled my tray over and laid out my chicken, fries and various dipping sauces and a coke. I ate quickly and Ranger threw away the evidence.

"Are you getting into bed?" I asked and scooted over. Ranger sighed.

"Just sleep Steph." He settled himself into the chair next to my bed and closed his eyes. I stared at him, watching him try to sink into his zen zone. "Go to sleep Stephanie." I kept staring until he opened his eyes. "Fine, what's it going to take?"

"Send them home. There is no threat and you're here with me. I don't need you wasting money and wearing out the men. You can call someone to replace you when you leave."

"Fine." He got up and went to the door, "Come say hi." Bobby and Hal ambled in and said hi to me. "No more body guarding Stephanie while she's here. I'll take care of it. I'm officially offline. Go home, get some sleep. Regular duty starting tomorrow." They nodded and left.

"You happy now?" Ranger asked.

"Still pissed you didn't tell me." I watched Ranger's face darken a little, "Thank you though. For caring. I love you Ranger."

Ranger's face lightened again and he rose gracefully from his chair and came over to me. "I love you too Babe." He brushed a light kiss over my lips, "now go to sleep."

I closed my eyes and was out before I heard him settle in his chair.

* * *

Let me know what you think. More later today or tomorrow. Off to work on Bad Idea (which is the new shortned name). :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Short filler chapter. More soon. **

* * *

It was Saturday morning and I didn't have any skips to catch. I was lying in bed contemplating the dream I'd just had. I could hear Joe in the kitchen, doing his best Suzie home maker impression, since I refused to fill the role. I heard him coming up the stairs and he opened the door, holding a tray. I screamed. He was a zombie. He gave me a sickening smile and I sat bolt upright. And then I was really awake. In my hospital bed, breathing hard, searching the room frantically.

"You okay Bomber?" It was Cal. He had his foot in a cast.

"I'm fine, just a bad dream. Sorry about your foot…" I said with a guilty smile.

"It's okay Bomber. Ranger had some work stuff to take care of. I'm supposed to entertain you."

"Let's make a break for it!" I said excitedly. I'd tried this same thing for the last three days with the various Merry Men that were here while Ranger was doing some work.

Cal laughed, "yeah, cause we'd make it so far. The gimp and the girl with the infectious disease."

"Oh yeah. Okay fine. Have whoever is in the hall make themselves useful and get me a Sausage, Egg and Cheese McMuffin."

Cal laughed and flipped open his phone and pushed the push to talk button. "Lester can you come in here?" The door open and Lester stepped in.

"Morning Bomber, que pasa?"

"Lester, you beautiful, gorgeous, man. You know how you're my favorite right? And how I want nothing more than to run away with you?"

"Am I gonna have to kick Lester's ass?" Ranger asked from the doorway. He was holding a McDonalds bag.

"Lester! Move out of Ranger's way! Ranger you beautiful, gorgeous man! Have I told you lately how much I love you?" Ranger rolled his eyes and walked over to me.

"How quickly she changes alliances." Lester said and helped Cal up. "We'll see you guys later." They left the room while I unwrapped my food.

"Babe, slow down, you're gonna choke," Ranger said after watching me for a moment.

I swallowed and looked at Ranger, "see the problem is that you don't know what you're missing." I took a drink of Coke and then took another bite.

"Babe that thing is crap. It's full of fat and preservatives and god knows what. Trust me, I know what I'm missing, and it's not much." He sounded so earnest, like he honestly couldn't see the amazingness of the McMuffin. "I got some good news for you babe."

"What what what?" I was literally bouncing. I'd gotten back to almost 100% over the last few days.

"I get to take you home."

"YES! FINALLY!"

"But you have to take it easy for the next two weeks, no skips, and light office work. But you get to come home to your kittens, they miss you."

"When are we leaving?" I asked excitedly.

"As soon as we get you dressed and packed." Ranger was already packing my duffle bag. When he finished he came over to me with a pair of yoga pants and a tank top and helped me get changed. The nurse came in a few minutes after that and they finally took out my IV. I got to ride in a wheel chair down the elevator and to the car, which Ranger of course insisted on helping me into.

The drive to Haywood was short thankfully. Ranger helped me out of the car and held onto me as we got into the elevator. On the seventh floor I started to walk towards his room but he stopped me, "Nope, I have a surprise for you." He walked towards his office and opened the door. His office had been transformed into a bedroom. All the old furniture was gone and in its place was a teak queen bed with matching bedside tables. There was a large LCD TV on the wall above a small cabinet that held a bluray player and a Wii, and a large armoire against one wall. The office supplies had been cleaned out of the walk-in closet and my clothes were hanging in it. The bathroom was stocked with towels and shower gel and everything else I would need.

Batman and Batgirl where asleep on the bed. "Ranger! You didn't have to do this." I was overwhelmed and just a little confused. He'd given me my own room in his apartment. Part of me was amazed that he would give up his space for me; the other part of me wondered why he didn't want me in his room.

"I thought you'd like your own space until you figured stuff out," he said as he walked over and picked up Batgirl and handed her to me. She mewed and rubbed against me before lying down in my arms and falling back asleep. Range r picked up Batman and gave him to me too while he pulled the covers of the bed back and motioned for me to get in.

"Raaaanngggeeeeeerrrrrr. I just got out of a two week bed rest! Can't we do something?"

"You can get into bed and play with these two while I show you your next surprise." I sighed, I couldn't say no to another surprise. Ranger took the kittens while I climbed in and then handed them back to me. He walked to the armoire and opened it up. Inside was Rex in a huge new cage with all the hamster bells and whistles I could imagine.

"The armoire vents to the outside, so you can close the doors at night and he won't keep you awake."

"Ranger this is all awesome. I can't believe you did all of this. Thank you so much." I rubbed Batman's ears while Batgirl slept. Ranger came over to the bed and crawled in next to me. I snuggled next to him and settled Batman on his chest. Ranger started murmuring to me in Spanish and his voice lulled me to sleep. At least I think he was talking to me. He might have been talking to the kittens.

* * *

**Give me some sugar!!! Lol. Let me know what you think as a whole, or of this chapter, and what you want to happen. I'm always willing to take suggestions. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Happy reading! We're moving slowly ahead!

* * *

**

Sometimes I think that life is complicated because it just is. Like we can't do anything about it and we just have to make the best of it. Other times I feel like life is only complicated because we make it complicated.

Right now I'm going with option two, and I need to uncomplicate my life. I'd been home from the hospital for three days and Ranger had barely let me out of bed, let alone my room. Today I was going to get stuff done, even if it killed me. I took a shower, got dressed and did the minimal for hair and makeup.

I took the elevator down to the fifth floor and greeted the men that were on hand. Everyone seemed happy to have me back up and running. I walked to Ranger's office and leaned on the door jam. He was on the phone arguing with someone about the delivery of something. He looked up, frowned at me and then wrapped up his conversation.

"You should be in bed Steph." Ranger started to stand and I motioned him back down.

"I am perfectly fine Ranger. I'm going over to Joe's today to start going through stuff and get packed. Figure out what's going to go in the yard sale. I could use a few able bodied men if you have any to spare?" I walked around the desk and hopped up right in front of Ranger, pushing his keyboard to the side. "I promise to rest if I get tired, to eat healthy, drink lots of water and be an overall good girl."

"Alright, you win. How many men do you want?" Ranger reached up and brushed a curl behind my ear.

"Two?"

"Four?"

"That sounds more like guards than servants."

"They'll be both. Go pick your men babe. I'll come by later with lunch."

"Gracias."

"De nada babe."

I hopped off his desk and went back into the control room. "Who wants to be on Stephanie duty today? I need four volunteers or I'll pick whoever looks the most scared," I sang out.

Lester, Bobby, Vince and Brett stood up the fastest and the others groaned. I was popular today. Vince spoke first, "What are we doing?"

"Helping me pack up Joe's house, presumably keeping me safe from kidnappers, killers and rogue vampires. The usual." I said.

The guys followed me down to the garage and we loaded into an SUV. We made a stop for packing supplies and several huge plastic bins for sorting and storage. I didn't really know where to start once we got to the house so I turned to the guys, "any ideas?"

"It's nice outside, we put down a tarp for garage sale stuff, a tarp with bins for storage stuff, a tarp with boxes for keep and transfer to your place stuff and then a throw away area. We pick up something and you tell us where it goes," Vince said. We all looked at him with our mouths open. "Hey, I saw it on a TV show." Ah. Alrighty then. I could see that, I learn a lot from TV.

Vince and Bobby went to set up the backyard and I dialed Ranger quickly.

"Babe."

"Hey I need the name of a real-estate agent."

"You want my opinion?"

"Yeah?"

"I'll send someone over to look at the kitchen and bathrooms first. Even if you just do a quick simple update and paint you'll get way more."

"Sounds good, thanks Ranger."

"Anything for you babe." He hung up and walked to the kitchen and grabbed a granola bar.

We started in the living room, systematically clearing it out. Pictures went into the keep pile. The flat screen, DVD player, X-Box and all the movies, games and CD's went into the sell pile.

Ranger arrived as we were starting work on the office, laden with six huge pizzas from Pino's and several six packs of Corona.

"Wow is today not a temple day?"

"It was a temple morning," Ranger said. He laid a kiss on my forehead and set down the pizza and beers.

The men seemed to sense the food and all converged into the kitchen at once. Once the pizza was gone and the beers had been drunk I expected Ranger to leave but he asked what I needed him to do. He helped me go through all of Joe's paperwork. I figured he'd know what I needed to keep better than I would. When we were done I had a small file folder case filled with important documents and three trash bags full of crap. We cleared the kitchen next, most everything went into the amazingly large sell pile. We worked on the bedroom next. I kept a bunch of Joe's sweatshirts, his photo albums and baseball cards. I made the mistake of looking through a photo album and it made me cry. It was literally a photo album of just us. There were pictures of us together from when we were little, school pictures, random pictures throughout the years and even pictures of us taken just a few months ago with Val's new baby.

I sent the album downstairs with Bobby and started going through my clothes. Between the six of us we got the whole house cleared out by dinner time. It helped that Joe wasn't big on possessions. We loaded the keep in storage and the other keep stuff into the SUV's and the guys put all the sale stuff in the living room. I was going to come back tomorrow and run a yard sale through the weekend. I figured Lula would come keep me company.

I was exhausted, Ranger loaded me up in his SUV and I fell asleep as soon as he started it up. He woke me up when we were in the garage.

"Babe, you overdid it."

"Yep."

"You're agreeing with me?"

"I am, take me upstairs please."

Ranger smirked and picked me up bridal style. He kicked the door shut and I burrowed my head into his chest as we got onto the elevator.

"You're just tired right? You feel okay otherwise?"

"Mmmhmm, and hungry."

"Ella will bring up dinner soon, where do you want me to put you?"

"Couch please." Ranger settled on the couch with me in his lap and grabbed the remote and handed it to me. I found a good show and leaned my head on Ranger's chest. I fell back asleep and when I woke up it was almost midnight. I was still on Ranger's lap and he was sleeping as well. He couldn't have been at all comfortable. We'd gained a blanket and the TV was off. I tried to move without waking Ranger up but he tightened his arms around me.

"Where ya goin babe?"

"To find some food." Ranger didn't let me up, instead he stood, still holding me and then put me back on the couch.

"Ella put dinner in the fridge, I didn't want to wake you up." He walked into the kitchen and started dishing things up and heating them. He sat everything on the table and I got up to join him. We ate quickly and Ranger said goodnight to me at my door with a quick kiss that curled my toes.

The next morning was phase two of uncomplicate my life and I called Lula around seven.

"Girl you better have a good reason for waking me up so early on the weekend."

"I do. I'm having a yard sale today and I need help." Lula was silent. She might have been contemplating killing me. "It will involve donuts for breakfast, some type of good lunch and the Merry Men lifting heavy objects."

"I'll meet you there in half an hour."

"Deal." I shut my phone and looked up to see Ranger lounging against my wall.

"Morning babe. I have some work to do this morning but I'll bring by that lunch you promised Lula later."

I got up and started to get ready, Ranger turned to leave but I started talking. "You don't have to bring lunch over if you're busy."

I stripped down to change and Ranger sighed, "Dios babe."

"It's nothing you haven't seen before." I said as I slipped on a pair of panties.

"Doesn't mean I don't want it." Ranger's eyes were dark when I looked up.

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have…" I stopped; Ranger was walking towards me slowly. He stopped a few inches away from me and his hand found my waist and he pulled me up against him. I sighed and Ranger brought his lips down to my mine. It was a gentle kiss. I fisted my hand in Ranger's short hair and he stopped kissing me.

"Get ready babe. You still have to stop and get those donuts." He walked out of my room, closing the door lightly behind him. Cripes. This was not helping me uncomplicate my life.

* * *

**Opinions please!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Dark, but involves naked Ranger!**

* * *

Ranger stopped by the yard sale Saturday morning to tell me he had to go out of town for a few days. He was picking up a skip that had fled to California. I could tell he was torn so I made sure he knew it was no big deal and that I would be fine. He brushed a kiss over my lips before he left and promised to call that night.

The yard sale made for a long hot weekend but I came away with a tan and a good bit of money. We gave anything that was left to goodwill and by the end of the weekend Joe's house was empty. Monday dawned bright and early; Jason came by to show the house to his daughter. She loved it and offered me $450,000 as is. I hired a real estate agent to handle the sale and felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders.

I jolted awake, still screaming bloody murder. I couldn't remember what my dream had been about. My door burst open as I stopped screaming. Ranger flicked on my light and scanned the room quickly. He sighed and relaxed as he saw it was just me.

"You okay babe?" He asked. He was still wearing his clothes and I figured he must have gotten back recently.

"Yeah, I'm fine. When did you get back?" I asked. I got out of bed and Ranger followed me into the kitchen. I bent and got a bottle of water out of the fridge. I looked at Ranger, he was staring at me oddly. "Earth to Ranger? When did you get back?"

"Oh…uh…just recently. Uh babe? I'm going to apologize for this now." He stalked towards and pushed me against the counter. He pressed his lips against mine and I felt his hand run over my abdomen and to my breast.

I looked down and shrieked, "I'm naked!"

"Yeah? I kind of figured you realized that," Ranger said sarcastically. He was still pressed up against me, "So I guess this wasn't an invitation." I shook my head slightly and Ranger backed up a few steps. I sighed. I needed to make a decision about Ranger. Maybe I was forcing myself to do it too early, I didn't know. But I knew I wanted Ranger, I wanted him to help me forget the pain.

"I didn't say you had to stop," I said in a low voice. Ranger's eyes darkened and took a step towards me and paused. I waited for him to move forward but instead he gave a slight shake of his head and walked out of the kitchen. I heard his bedroom door close softly and I slid down the kitchen wall. Tears stung my eyes and swiped them away with my fist. He'd gone from hot to cold so fast that it confused me. I stood up, walked back to my room and crawled into bed. I tossed and turned for an hour.

What was wrong with him? He told me loved me, he obviously wanted me. The minute I tell him I want him back and he just backs off? Cripes. No wonder my life is complicated. Well fuck that.

I got up and walked to Ranger's room. He would just have to tell me what the hell was going on. I opened the door and walked to his side of the bed. He was sound asleep, probably tired from tracking the skip all over hell and gone. I poked him in the bicep.

"Ranger! WAKE UP!" He shifted and opened an eye.

"What's wrong?"

"You! You are what's wrong! What was that about huh? You say you love me and then back off when I want to have sex? What the fuck Ranger?"

"Calm down."

"No! I have been calm. I haven't done more than have a few crying jags and you know what? I don't want to be fucking calm anymore! I'm angry and hurt and confused and I just want to punch something!" I was breathing hard and I was suddenly so angry. Not just at Ranger but at everything. I was angry that Joe had died, I was angry at how I had handled it and most of all I angry at Joe for dying. "Why'd he have to die, huh? It's not fair."

Ranger stood up and grabbed me, trying to pull me into a hug. But I was still angry and I tried to push him away and when he wouldn't let me I started punching and hitting him. He stood there and let me pound my fists into his stomach and chest until I was shaking so hard all I could do was cry. I finally let him pull me into the hug and we stood like that for a long time.

"That's why Steph. We can't be together until you're over what happened. You need to be happy first." Ranger said, dropping a kiss onto my hair. "Steph, I'm thinking maybe you should go to a therapist." I froze before looking up at him. His dark eyes were full of concern and so I nodded.

"Okay." I agreed because it had dawned on me that I wasn't handling this right. I still loved Joe and I always would. Pushing it to the side wouldn't help anything. Being with Ranger wouldn't solve my issues.

Ranger walked me back to my room and I slowed half way there, "You're naked."

"So are you."

"Okay then." I saw the corners of Ranger's mouth tilt up. He tucked me in and turned to leave. "Can you stay? I haven't slept much the last few nights." Ranger nodded and slipped in beside me, keeping a sheet between us. I laid on my stomach and Rangers hand found my back, tracing patterns onto the bare skin. I finally fell into the deep sleep I'd needed since I'd come home from the hospital.

Ranger was still asleep when I woke up in the morning. He was pressed against me and the feeling of his warm skin on my chilled body was wonderful. Ranger's alarm was going off down the hall and I got up as quietly as I could and turned it off. I turned around and Ranger was right behind me.

"Good morning."

"Morning."

"I'm going to get you an appointment for today. I have a friend that owes me a favor," Ranger said. I nodded and went back to my room to shower. I gave Rex a hamster treat, made sure the kittens had water and then left the apartment.

I went down to the fifth floor and walked by everyone without talking to them. I went to my office and logged onto my laptop. My inbox was full of searches and I started in on them, trying to make a dent. I'd been working a few hours when Ranger knocked and then entered my office. "Are you ready?"

"No." I got up though and followed Ranger down to his Porsche. We didn't go far before Ranger pulled into a parking garage. He opened my door for me and held my hand as we went into the building. He signed me in and came to sit with me.

"It'll be okay Steph. This will be good for you." I nodded and Ranger squeezed my hand. The secretary called my name and I walked back and met the doctor. I sat down and got ready to face myself.

* * *

**Let me know what you think. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The doctor sat silently for a few moments before talking, "Well Stephanie, what brings you in today?"

I snorted, "It's a long story."

"Well we have time, but let's start with the most important aspect first." I waited for her to tell me what that was but I guess it was my turn.

"Joe. My husband died several weeks ago," I said and looked up. I didn't see the pity I saw in everyone else's face, but there was something else, maybe empathy.

"How long had you two been married?"

"Only a month or so. We got drunk in Vegas…but I've known Joe my whole life, we grew up together. I mean he taught me how to play choochoo when we were little, and took my virginity when I was 16 and then I ran him over when I was 18 and we've been dating on and off for a few years now. Don't get the wrong idea though, Morelli is a great guy, he was wild when he was younger but now he's a detective." I realized I was talking in the present tense. "He grew up to be a great man. Joe was a great man."

"It must be very difficult for you, to lose someone you love so much."

"It is but…" I sighed, this is the part that was going to make me sound like a horrible person. "But Ranger is there, and that helps. I've loved him for a long time too. I don't know what to do about that, it feels like I'm being disloyal to Joe by being with Ranger."

"But you want to be with him?"

"I do. But Ranger isn't really the commitment type. He's always told me he loves me in his own way, and that always kept me with Joe."

"Because you don't want him to love you in his own way?"

"I just want him to love me I guess. Which he does. He told me so, right before I got married to Morelli. But then he did his disappearing act and I was upset which lead to the drinking that led to the wedding."

"Tell me about your history with Ranger."

"We're both bounty hunters. Of course Ranger does security stuff too. Basically I black mailed my cousin Vinnie into giving me the bounty hunter job and Ranger was assigned to be my mentor. He never really left that role. He became my friend and eventually we had sex. The best sex I've ever had. But I went back to Joe because of Ranger's 'love that comes with a condom, not a ring,' philosophy. Ranger saves my life a lot and has risked his own for me several times. He bleeds money by putting bodyguards on me while I'm being stalked. I'm living with him right now. In a separate room.

"You're life sounds…fast paced?"

"My life is a total clusterfuck. My cars are always getting blown up, I find dead bodies constantly and I've been stun gunned enough times that something is probably permanently damaged. I've been kidnapped and tortured several times and have to carry around several things with built in GPS and panic buttons just in case."

The doctor looked at me for a few seconds and I figured she was trying to find something to say.

"That does sound rather…hectic…and what happens when you blow up a car or get kidnapped?"

"Usually Ranger loans me a car or rescues me."

"Did Joe ever rescue you?"

"He was with Ranger a few times. But Joe usually showed up a long with the cops and drank a bottle of Maalox. I gave Joe heartburn, he hated my job."

"And how did he feel about your relationship with Ranger?"

"It didn't make him happy. He wanted me to stay far away from Ranger. The strange thing is that he left me a note. He had a note with his will in case anything happened to him. Because his job was dangerous. The note told me that it was okay for me to love Ranger and that he wanted me to be happy."

"So why are you here Stephanie? It sounds to me like you have your answer."

It did indeed seem that way.

"Stephanie you loved Joe, I have no doubt about that. And it's normal to feel guilty about starting another relationship, especially so soon after his death. But it seems to me like you're not starting anything, just continuing something that was already there. Joe knew what was going on, he gave you permission to be happy. So you need to do that. You need to just let yourself be happy. Let the guilt go, and do what your heart wants. Do you know what you want?"

"I do."

"Then go get it." Everything suddenly seemed very clear. I knew exactly what I wanted.

I nodded and stood up, I walked out of the office and into the waiting room, and Ranger stood up, looking surprised as I stalked towards him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and brought my lips to his. It was one of those earth shattering end of the movie kisses that you can only hope you'll get one day. I let him pull back after several minutes, his black eyes sparkling slightly.

"What was that?"

"Me finally getting what I wanted."

* * *

**The End? I dunno...let me know what you think.**


End file.
